Facility sought to create national manga and anime archive | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis
An archivist examines original manga drawings. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
The Agency for Cultural Affairs launched a committee to develop a new national facility dedicated to collecting, preserving and exhibiting original manga and animation artwork on Aug. 29.
The committee, comprised of creators, industry leaders and academics, will initially focus on defining the roles and functions of this new facility by the end of September.
The project is part of the government’s broader cultural and entertainment export policy, the New Cool Japan Strategy, which was unveiled in June.
The government policy calls for the establishment of a “national center for media arts” dedicated to archiving original manga drawings, animation cels and other valuable artworks.
In response to the initiative, the agency has requested 93 million yen ($641,000) in the upcoming fiscal year’s budget. These funds will be allocated toward digitizing animation works and recruiting specialized experts to manage the collection.
